About this book

The Gaia hypothesis has widely influenced environmental activists and Lovelock's lucid and persuasive expositions have found an enthusiastic readership among the general public. Overall, however, the idea has been difficult to establish among other scientists. This book hopes to integrate the Gaian idea into the mainstream of biological thought by explaining it in terms of its molecular biological underpinnings, locating the mechanisms of ecological coordination within the cell. Williams further maintains that global balance is achieved by means of subcellular coordination of biochemical processes.